Since 1981 the last Saturday in August of every year, the Japanese have their own carnival, like the one in Rio, Brazil.Everything is the same, almost: the samba schools exhibit along the streets, each of them with its own (un)dressed dancers in their costumes all diamonds and wings, the theme of the group, the king and the queen of the situation, and so on....I mean, almost perfectly brazilian, but ther Japanese dancers! they make efforts of course, they are passionated but they mis the genes, they don't feel the rhythm in their blood, they miss the passionality that the "calientes" amber-coloured brasilians have by nature!And the Japanese who were there to attend such an event: 2-3 cameras with super lens, chairs, hats to beat the heat, 'cause it's real suffering being under the sun for 5 hrs, bento-boxes to have food in loco not to miss any detail.

Tonight, one of those nights made to be melancholic...and not because you're in a particularly bad mood, but because it's a matter of fashion to be known as one of those who give themselves to philosophy when the night comes. The day was warm, but not suffering as the normality is here in japan, so tonight it was pleasant to stay indoor or outdoor. Fascinated by the bright sky for a moment, I go out on the balcony and I start, as usual, being distracted an getting lost in thoughts, my errant mind visiting unknown places and exploring areas os subconscious not probed yet.I was reasoning on all the very nice things that have happened to me, the less nice ones, the difficult ones; I was realising how lucky I am, what I was given, what I was stolen, too, what else is in preparation for me....All of a sudden I come back into the real world and I notice that something's changed around me, there's an odd silence I can't explain to myself and I go to check whether they moved the rail tracks while I was tripping, but nope, still there and even a train passes just to underline its presence.....but then, perhaps it's because only few cars are around, but wrong, too, not far from the truth, though,it being Sunday. At the end I understand......tonight the cicadas aren't pissing me off!!!!!!And they are not common cicadas: a new evolved animal, both in terms of dimension and of acoustic pollution. They're capable of making noise ENDLESSLY, sunset to dawn, and the volume of the noise is just under the recommended threshold to avoid chronic deafness...

One very effective thing to observe while being in Japan is the enthusiasm which the Japanese greet the summer season with: July to September all around the country the fireworks events multiply the appointments.Such events, depending on the place where they happen, can be more or less attractive. Let's consider Tokyo Bay, Odaiba, fireworks: one finds a piece of soil, beach, grass, roof, whatever, ideally by the bay, and one waits for the light fair to start....honestly, being there, at sunset, and later during the night, and seeing an explosion of lights and colors that expire while the ashes fall into the sea...well, it's a show with no other competitors!In such an occasion everybody, men and women, wears the traditional clothes, Yukata, and it's very amazing looking at the girls wrapped into those colorful fabrics, uneasily walking in their wooden sandals, waving a fancy hand fan to keep cool, and their hair adorned by precious hairpins....The thing that provokes hilarity is the wonder they express at the fireworks, as all of this were nature's artwork and they one may distinctly hear a chorus voicing amazement, applauses start, high liking screams rise up....Besides the sight of the yukata, one should be aware of the people, really a lot, who distribute from the trains to the observation points: every millimeter of the area is occupied by families, couples, groups of friends, who have an abundant meal with bento boxes and beers while the fireworks go on. After the end of the show, the stream of the human current repeats itself, because now everybody heads towards he station, where they find a well trained group of officers who gently invite the people to go to the UNIQUE entrance - as the other accesses to the stations are safely kept closed- and then it's challenging to reach the platform yet, but if you manage to go in and arrive at your stop before you die pressed into the train, than you can really say a miracle happened....